


Surface Tension

by CuriousChibiHunter



Category: youtube - Fandom
Genre: Body Horror, Dark, Demon!Jack, Demons, Dragons, Gore, Headless, Horns, Irish Lore, Kelpie - Freeform, Major Character Undeath, Major character death - Freeform, Other, Possession, Spirit - Freeform, Spirits, Violence, World lore, but the angels dont really exist..., demons vs angels, it's weird - Freeform, jacksepticeyeAU, mental changes, supernaturalau, talking knives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 13:11:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6611875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuriousChibiHunter/pseuds/CuriousChibiHunter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack has been having strange dreams. Now they seem to be leaking over to the waking world...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Running   
Can't stop, can't ever stop.  
If he does he will cease to exist/die/be TAKEN.  
Dead-end! Shit, no, any other way out? No.  
His breath coming in gasps, he turned and braced for the impact, the knife he held small and insignificant against the hulking creature scrabbling after him.  
The thing, a horrible twisted shadow with multiple limbs screeched in triumph as it saw he was trapped. Oh god why were there so many teeth and eyes?  
It charged blindly forward, sadistic glee in its many eyes.  
He squeezed his own shut, whole body tense and trembling...  
The creature threw itself upon him...and the knife sank up to the hilt in its eye.  
Scorching hot black blood spilled everywhere as the creature screeched again, this time in pain. He gagged as some of the horrible tasting stuff got in his mouth.  
The shadow was ripping apart now. Scarves of black ethereal skin fluttering down to drape themselves over solid horns and half crushed eyes.  
He stared. A spike of pain lanced through his head and heart at the same instant-  
-startling him awake. Covered in a cold sweat, Jack put his head in his hands and tried to settle his racing heart.   
He'd been having similar nightmares for three days now but that was the first time he'd fully seen what had been chasing him. Or even attempted to kill it.  
God he needed an aspirin or something, his head was killing him.  
Tossing off the covers, Jack stumbled downstairs, in his sleep deprived state not even noticing that he got around everything without tripping once in the pitch blackness.  
Grabbing the medicine from the cabinet, he swallowed a couple pills dry and headed back to bed.  
Maybe he should talk to someone about these nightmares. He'd been running on just coffee for the past couple days.  
And as much as he loved coffee, Jack knew that wasn't a good idea.  
...  
When he woke up again later having for once not experienced a nightmare, the headache had receded to a mild ache that throbbed whenever he moved suddenly.  
Grumbling to himself, he scratched at his scalp and ran his fingers through his green hair.  
...  
Jack shifted in his chair uncomfortably. The headache had come back about halfway through the video he'd been recording and somehow spread to his entire body. He felt sore all over and it was making him more irritable.  
He managed to channel most of it into energy for the recording but still felt sore and cranky after.  
Jack slumped over in his chair once the recording equipment was turned off and pressed the palms of his hands against his temples as hard as he could. It felt like his skull was about to crack open.  
That's when he felt it. Two tiny little bumps at his hairline. The headache was centered on them and the pain only increased as his heart raced in panic.  
Jack shouted in shock and pain as the skin around the bumps suddenly started to peel away, thin rivulets of blood streaming down his skin.   
The pain in his skull ramped up until any noise and light was agony and Jack instinctively curled into a ball, in an attempt to stop the pain. He pressed his hands harder against his head and felt the rough scrape of bone against his palms, arching up and out in a way that was alien to him. Terrified, he yanked his hands away. His heart raced and a final spike of pain made him howl, the sound actually causing the light on his desk to explode.  
Exhausted, he briefly considered just staying where he was forever. But the ache and oddness of what had just happened propelled him to the bathroom.  
Jack shuffled down the hall, one hand on the wall to keep himself up. When he got to the bathroom a wave of dizziness nearly made him pass out, so he slumped against the wall and waited for it to pass.  
Flicking on the light he stared blankly at his reflection, too tired to panic at the sight of horns emerging from his skull and arching back for about half a foot before tapering to wicked looking points.


	2. How is This My Life?

Jack swore as he misjudged the distance between himself and the doorframe-yet again!- by mere centimeters and the tip of his left horn caught on it, wrenching his head back painfully.  
It had been almost 7 hours since he'd grown horns and he was still no closer to answers. He'd spent most of that time on the internet looking up any and all possible ways this could have happened. He'd found plenty of things about humans growing horns (surprisingly) but those were mostly bone tumors or some shit. And they took months or even years to grow. His had grown in less than ten minutes.  
And they were perfectly symmetrical, arching back smoothly, nothing like the overly gnarled things from the medical records.  
The only thing that was even close was a movie that had come out in 2014, about a guy who was blamed for his girlfriend's death and somehow grew devil horns that let him find out all the towns secrets.   
It was a little spooky how similar the scene where the main character got the horns was to his own experience, except the actor's looked less painful. Fucking movie magic. Lucky bitch.  
Jack wondered if someone had cursed him, then shook his head. 'That's jus' crazy,' he told himself, laughing nervously.   
His hands betrayed him by wandering up to re-explore the still unfamiliar rough texture of his horns. 'Then again...what isn't about this whole thing?'  
Anyway, after the Internet search stopped turning up relevant information, Jack went to his room, curled up in his blankets and had a silent panic attack.  
He woke up several hours later, having fallen asleep, absolutely ravenous.   
Mindlessly, still half asleep, he picked up his phone and ordered a pizza. Only to realize what he'd done a half second after he'd ended the call.  
"Fuuuuck," Jack groaned, flopping back on his bed.  
Maybe he could just ask the delivery guy to leave the pizza outside and he could slip money under the door?  
Nah, that was way too suspicious. The best thing to do, he realized, was to act like nothing was wrong. He could say the horns are for a horror movie he and his friends are shooting or something.  
The wait seemed to take forever. Jack sat at his kitchen table, bouncing his leg and scrolling through Twitter on his phone but not seeing any of it. By the time the doorbell rang he was so wound up he almost jumped a foot in the air.  
He opened the door with a nervous smile on his face. The cover story was on the tip of his tongue throughout the whole interaction with the delivery guy but oddly enough the man never asked. He didn't even look at them. It was like they were invisible to him.  
Once he'd paid the guy and closed the door, Jack frowned to himself. He set the pizza down on the table and pulled out his phone.  
Opening the camera app he took a quick photo of himself then looked at it. No horns. Reaching up he affirmed to himself they were still there and looked at the photo again.  
Huh. So no one else could see them.  
...  
For the next few days, Jack lived in a constant high alert state as he slowly tested the invisibility of his new traits. He was ready to bolt at the first odd look someone gave him. Eventually he was convinced they were truly invisible and calmed down.  
However he often felt restless. There was a tugging in his chest that would inevitably, when followed, lead him outside. As though there was a magnetic lodestone inside him.  
That night was one of the times where Jack gave in to the urge and wandered around the city. He'd finished the videos for the day so he had some time on his hands.  
As he headed out down some unfamiliar street, the sound of shouting nearby drew his attention and against his better judgment, Jack headed for it.  
He stopped short of entering the alley where the sound came from and cautiously looked around.   
There was a huge burly man standing at the end of the alley, gesturing wildly and shouting at...a knife?  
"What the fock?" He whispered, staring at the odd sight.  
As he looked, Jack noticed several other weird things about the man. From this distance it was hard to make out but the man's eyes looked almost molten orange and his teeth were suspiciously sharp.  
The man suddenly threw down the knife and stormed towards the entrance- right towards Jack!- muttering unpleasant things about the knife's mother.  
As he walked, the man...flickered. Like bad graphics. For just a moment anyone could see the monster underneath. It looked like a grotesque rotting creature similar to a charger infected from Left 4 Dead. The smell of rot coming off him nearly made Jack choke. Then the image of the man flickered back into place.  
Before Jack could get away or even not look like he was creepily staring down an alley, the man was out on the sidewalk and had seen him.  
A distinctly unpleasant smile crawled onto the man's face, showing off his shark-like teeth.  
"Well looks like I found a little lost imp," he growled, grabbing Jack's arm and flinging him against the brick alley wall.

-'Who is he calling imp?' A small voice snarled in the back of Jack's head-

The sharp impact knocked the breath from his lungs, leaving Jack gasping as he slumped against the wall for support.  
"Your soul will taste delicious," he heard the man say from what seemed like far away.  
His heart hammered wildly in his chest. He was scared, true,-

-but he was also angry.  
The little voice got louder. 'This guy thinks I'll just roll over and die? HELL NO!"  
The last part came out of his mouth in a snarling denial. The man had been standing over him and Jack slammed a foot into his chest. The guy stumbled back, coughing, and he took the opportunity to launch himself at his opponent.  
The guy reached forward to try and grab him but he was faster.  
Jack kept getting in hits and darting away until the man got sick of his inability to hit him. His arm warped, changing to the huge and gross rotting arm Jack had briefly seen earlier. The sight distracted him and the guy landed a hit that sent him flying to the other end of the alley.  
He got up, breathing hard and glaring at the infuriated ...thing.  
An odd cracking sensation made him glance down at his arms. The human skin was flaking off, leaving behind armored dark claws-like the demon from his nightmare, he remembered-and he felt himself grin savagely.  
Part of him was confused and terrified, but another part of him was celebrating a recovery of an old and familiar weapon. That same part had him darting forward and putting those claws to use on the enemy.   
The man by now had almost completely become the monstrous form Jack had caught a glimpse of earlier. It tried to lash out at him and missed, allowing him to sink his claws in and rip open the things stomach.  
It howled and tried to hit him again and again failed.  
He bounced back in and tore open the throat. A wet gurgling sound came from its open throat and it scrabbled with calloused hands, trying to futilely fix the ruined flesh.  
The stench of rot grew stronger as the body collapsed and started to disintegrate. Soon all that was left was an unidentifiable bloody smear on the ground and a strange little ball of energy the color of dried blood-the soul, the other part of him said.  
Growling he stalked forward and picked up his prize. Eyeing it in a pleased sort of way, he ate it swiftly, instinctively worried that another would take it.  
He grinned as the vast energy from the soul swirled through him, strengthening and changing him-  
-Jack fell to his knees, coughing hard. The energy was practically burning his insides! He clamped a hand over his mouth as sweet copper tasting pain exploded in his jaws.  
He continued to cough as the wave of pain slowly faded, trickles of blood dripping onto the ground through his fingers.  
Panting, he tentatively explored his mouth for the source. And nearly cut open his tongue.  
His teeth had changed shape to resemble the shark like ones of the man-demon thing he'd just killed.  
Killed. Fuck.   
The bile rising in his throat from taking a life was shoved away. He could deal with that when he was safely at home. On top of that, he had so many questions about what had just happened!  
His arms were back to normal, but how had they done the claw thing in the first place?! And what had that guy been? He obviously hadn't been human.  
And why had he reacted that way in the fight? It was like he'd been someone else entirely.  
Mind whirling, Jack made to stand up-and saw the knife the guy had been shouting at by his foot.  
Without even really thinking about it, he picked it up.  
'SankenJan you jackass what the hell're you doing-...you're not San.' A voice growled-vibrated practically-from the knife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can anyone guess what's up with Jack during the fight? If you do, I may give you a cameo appearance later in the story


	3. A Long-ass Explanation

It's really simple kid. Lots of us wonder why we are here. Some, most really, say God. I think differently. I think demons -yes DEMONS, what did you think we are, unicorns?- are here simply as the natural predators of humans. We feed off them. From literally to emotionally to just causing them mischief, we are here to try and keep the humans in check. We prey on the weak willed and sick minded.  
That's our job.  
Others would kill me for saying that. That's one of the reasons I'm stuck in this knife. They think they are waging a war against heaven with destroying humans being their top priority.   
They would kill you if they found out what you are. A half demon is disgraceful to them.  
Speaking of, you say that San came to you in a dream and you killed him? Yeah, a failed possession is a definite ticket to hell-literally! Hah!  
San? Oh, he was a chatterbox. Always running his mouth. Got him in a lotta trouble more than once, so I'm not surprised he tried a possession to hunker down for a bit.  
Apparently the bit of him that's left showed up when the demon you killed last night insulted you, he never did like insults.  
Course I don't know the name of the idiot who tried to use me, do I look like someone who gives a shit about idiots like that? Yeah kid, beating yourself up over his death sounds like a great idea!  
Get over it! You're a demon now.  
Jeez no wonder he called you an imp, you can't even deal with that?  
You're a half demon, and if you don't want to be another demons snack, you need to get started now. On what? Your territory of course! If you can get some and prove you can defend it the others won't take you as a joke like they would if you didn't have any. Your wanderings before you got your first kill were a good start but you need to get better.  
Congrats kid, you're in the big leagues now. Let's get started.  
Me? I'm Asp.  
...  
Jack snarled to himself. Who knew a knife could be such a slave driver? At least he answered some of his questions.   
Asp had made him investigate any and all potential demonic activities in his area to figure out who the 'locals' were and how to best get them to stay away. He took Asp with him in a backpack to make sure it was truly demons.  
Jack had spent the entire day traveling around the city and he was tired, in the way that it sinks into you and the only thing that makes it better is more movement. His only consolation was that he was almost done, this was the last thing they had to check.   
Arriving at the forested park were the activity supposedly happened, he glanced around wearily before slumping down on a nearby bench across the park from a crowded playground.   
Leaning his head back, Jack sighed. He scratched idly at the itchy bases of his horns with a hand and closed his eyes.  
"Hey mister?" A small voice asked. Slightly annoyed, he opened his eyes to see a small girl in a blue jacket looking at him curiously.  
"Why do you have horns?" She asked in that blunt way children have when they have no idea what they are looking at. Jack blinked and tensed subtly.  
"Relax kid," Asp whispered. "Kids are more perceptive than adults cause they haven't developed any ideas about what supposedly can and can't happen."  
Jack took a deep breath.  
"Because I am too boss to not have them," he faked a grin for her. Being a small child she accepted this answer easily.  
"Okay!" She skipped off.  
After about fifteen minutes of nothing else happening, Jack stood up to leave.  
"How cute," someone- no, THING, snarled behind his back, because no human that he knew of could sound like three people at once.  
Jack whipped around-and almost laughed at the bat-winged guy in what looked like an outfit he stole from a hard core sex shop that showed a truly horrific amount of skin. If it weren't for the vibe of 'unholy monstrosity' he would think he/it/whatever was on crack possibly.  
"How haven't you been arrested yet..."   
The 'man' sneered. "As if those HUMANS could ever hold ME, I'm an icubus fool, and if you don't mind, I will be taking that adorable little chunk of meat you were just talking to home with me." He chuckled darkly as he turned to go. "If you're a smart little weakling you won't get in my way."  
...  
The would be rapist didn't even manage to make two steps to his target before Jack tackled him and starting trying to crush his face.  
Rage had drowned out every unnecessary thought, leaving him with only the desire to kill.  
The demon struggled, reaching back and scrabbling at Jack in an attempt to get him off, by chance grabbing onto one of his horns and YANKING. Jack recoiled with a yowl and the incubus was up and running.  
"You're coming with me you little brat!" He snarled, snatching up the little girl from where she'd been playing on the slide.  
The other kids started to scream.  
The little girl didn't have time to start panicking before she was released as Jack forced her out of the demons arms and redoubled his attempts to make said demons insides become his outsides. It didn't take long.  
"Well damn kid, didn't think you had it in you!" Asp said softly. "I'm impressed."  
Jack pocketed the soul for later as he calmed down and the parents of the kids came running around the corner.  
One of them immediately began interrogating him but the little girl spoke up and said the nice devil man had saved her from the naked guy. Immediately the parents began thanking him profusely and it was only by faking that he had somewhere to be that he got away.  
"Incubii are detested by most demons on the lesser end of the scale, as they see young of any kind as treasures," Asp told him quietly as Jack made his way home. "Others keep them as entertainment, so either way news of this is gonna get around."


	4. Drowning

She spilled her heart out on the river bank, cried until the tears no longer came and her head ached.  
Because her only son was dead, gone on to his father where she couldn't reach. Why? Why did he have to leave her?  
The water lapping at the shore seemed to take on a rhythm and cadence only for her. Almost like a human voice...  
'....-them-...'  
It was their fault her precious baby boy was gone, those stupid gang members he was always going on about, wanted to impress. If it wasn't for them he would be alive!  
'...-hate them...-'  
Oh how she did! It would be so wonderful if only they were gone and her son was back.  
She was so angry...but she needed to listen...  
The woman knelt right at the rivers edge, staring down at the fast moving water moving in subtle colors.  
'...-good-...'  
If she tilted her head she could just imagine there were eyes at the bottom of the river, beyond her reflection, looking up at her...  
'...-you are MINE!-'  
Dark water surged and she had no time to scream before the cold water enveloped her in an embrace like a lovers and took her under.  
Flashes of vision. Under the surface among swirling pond weed as her hate seethed with the current...  
Surfacing when the hated sun had gone down, stupid wisps trying to spark her, didn't they know she wouldn't be denied?  
Humans on the bank of her river!  
No, nononononono!  
Water swirling into claws and fangs, dragging them under for her to feast on...  
Yes...  
...  
Two weeks later she stared blankly at the tv as it reported yet another mangled body of a member of that gang and all she could feel was a dull sense of satisfaction and mild terror.  
She'd been losing time, whole chunks slipped by where she couldn't remember anything she'd done. That was much preferable to the times where she did remember, if only bits and pieces, anyway.   
She had never wanted this, she wanted to scream but the tiny part of her that had been growing stronger with every trip to the river insisted she did.  
She knew the police would never believe her or be able to keep her safe, she couldn't resist the call for long. She'd tried and woken up after the next 'trip' with bruises twice the size of her fists all over her body.  
The whispering grew louder and her feet took her down to the river bank. As she slipped into the water, her last thought was that she hoped there was no one at the river tonight.  
...  
Once he stepped off the bus Jack spent the two block walk to the now infamous river talking with Asp.  
So far there had been a total of five bodies found floating in this section of the river, all mangled and half eaten.  
The police had been of the opinion that there was a feral dog or bear in the area, possibly an abused exotic pet, but Asp and Jack knew that was very unlikely.  
The river had ensured that there weren't enough clues for the police to work with so all they could really do was warn people to stay inside at night, making the trip easy.  
Cautiously Jack began exploring the riverbank. A huge cloud of fire flies hung over the river, their light sparkling on the dark waters.  
He frowned. The light from these things didn't look like fire flies at all. The light was more blue-green than green-yellow. And they were closer to the size of a golf ball...  
Stopping in his tracks, Jack stared at them for a moment. "Are those will o the wisps?!" He asked Asp. "Yup. Kinda odd to see this many, usually they only get together in small groups for pranks. Don't think they're what we're looking for though."  
Jack was so busy looking at the wisps he almost didn't notice the fact that the water was receding from the bank fast...  
"Oh fuck!" He shouted as he was forced to dodge a huge wave crashing against the ground where he had been standing.  
The wall of dark water didn't recede and coalesced into the rough form of a monstrous ever changing horse.  
The ghostly pale form of a woman hung writhing in the shadowy water, rage written on her face.  
"Kelpie!" Asp shouted. "Get away from the water!"  
She screamed its displeasure at missing its prey and the river surged again. This time it snagged his foot and Jack was dragged down into the water.  
His eyes stung from the river muck as water in the shape of fangs snapped at him. Currents spun him around and slammed him into the rocky river bed.  
He could swim pretty well but against something like this in its element he was screwed.  
Hard water ripped open his shoulder and the resulting cloud of blood obscured his opponent even more. Lungs burning, he tried to get to the surface only to be cruelly yanked down.   
A loud fizzling like water dumped in a hot pan was the creature's only warning before a wisp slammed through the river to boil away its shoulder.  
Even under water Jack could clearly hear the kelpie's scream.  
The first success must have been a signal because soon the creature was fending off hundreds of the little things.  
With it distracted he managed to pull himself out of the river into the bank. When he caught his breath he turned to see what had happened.  
The wisps were relentless but the river was healing the kelpie as fast as they could damage it. It burst out of the river with a scream that was equal parts rage and pain. Its prey would not escape it!  
'The river...' Jack thought. 'I need to cut it off from the river.'  
Darting to the left, he started taunting the creature.  
"Come and get me, fucker!" He laughed, dodging just out of reach of the hungry water.  
Emitting an enraged snort, it charged after him, a constant stream of water connecting it to the river.  
The wisps seemed to catch on to what he wanted as well, subtly herding the kelpie farther and farther away from the water.  
With one last lunge, the 'horse' snapped it's own tether to the river. Jack grinned almost ferally as the wisps kept it from escaping. Allowing his claws to make an appearance, he stepped closer to the panicking demon.  
Distracted by the painful gaping wounds the wisps made as the boiled away it's body, the kelpie couldn't defend itself as Jack walked right up to it, pulling the woman out of its grip.  
Screaming it's hatred, the now formless dark water tried one last time to capture it's prey before Jack ripped apart the jellyfish like being. The wisps made sure there was nothing left for it to use and return.  
Spluttering, the woman's eyes snapped open and she coughed up what seemed like half the river out of her lungs.  
"You...should've just let me die," she gasped. "I killed..."  
She cut herself off to stare at his horns before looking back at his face, apparently deciding to ignore this fact about her savior.  
"I don't think that was your fault," Jack said forcefully.  
The woman sobbed, making a valiant attempt at a smile. "You don't understand... I was so angry..."  
"Did you try to fight?" He asked. She nodded. "Then I think you did the best you could. That thing...just be happy you can get away."  
The woman wiped her eyes and stood up straight. "Thank you for your help and kindness. You seem to be a fine young man. But willing or not I did horrible things and I must pay for them."  
Jack bowed his head, acknowledging her decision and walked her to her house.  
Heading back to the park he about jumped 12 feet in the air when Asp spoke up suddenly.  
"Nice job kid, kelpies are nasty customers."  
"An' where the hell were you during this?!" Jack demanded.  
"I fell asleep. I knew you could handle it." Was the lazy reply.  
Jack growled out a sigh and turned to go when some of the wisps darted in front of him.  
They hovered at about chest height and started making a buzzing sound that slowly resolved into words.  
"----new lord?----foolish water is dead----follow?"  
"Um, you sure?" He asked. They vibrated up and down in a manner reminiscent of a nod. "Ok...how many of you?"  
The balls of light seemed to look amongst themselves before making a decision.  
"---one shall go with bright lord----others stay----one be ambassador for all---" One of the wisps floated forward and darted into his backpack to rest with Asp.  
The only thing Jack could think of to say in this situation was thank you as the wisps vanished into the night. He shook his head at the new craziness and started away from the river.


	5. Judging

Jack sighed. He needed a moment to sort out the huge clusterfuck his life had become.   
The first thing they'd done when back at the apartment had been Asp coaching him through the ceremony to make him officially the wisps new lord. THAT had been an experience and a half, blood oaths and something snapping into place in his soul, the bone-deep knowledge that the wisps would do anything for him now and his determination to be worthy of that devotion.  
Speaking of that, he was a demon lord now. How was this his life? Now lives were under his care and he'd need to defend them. Not that he really minded, for two reasons. One being that the wisps had helped him out with the kelpie then decided to bind themselves to him. It was the least he could do to help defend them in return.  
The other reason, if he was being honest with himself, was that he was starting to love the fights he got into. There was something purely exhilarating about them and it was so damn SATISFYING to be DONE with an enemy. It was kinda scary how much he liked this and hard to rationalize with what he'd learned growing up from his parents.   
Still, this was what he was now. No real way to run away from this.  
"-This one likes these!-"  
Jack smiled as he was broken out of his thoughts, turning to look at the wisp currently cuddling up to a pile of plushy Sams. The sight was adorable.  
Picking up one of the smaller Sams, Jack giggled, tossing up and catching the eyeball a couple times. "Looks like Sam got a new friend," he said to himself.  
"-Sam? This one likes that name. Can this one's name be Sam too?-" the little wisp asked excitedly, zipping over to hover in front of Jack.  
"Well yeah, if ya really want to," he smiled, shrugging. "You didn't have a name before?"  
"Not one that we would understand," Asp interjected from his perch on the bookshelf (the lazy demon had taken one look at the piece of furniture and all but demanded to be put there. Something about vantage points?). "No one besides other wisps are able to understand HOW exactly they tell each other apart."  
"Huh, that's kinda cool...Anyway, if you want your name to be Sam, go for it," Jack encouraged, grinning. The newly named Sam did a couple aerial flips and other maneuvers from joy. Jack giggled again before turning to Asp.  
"I've got a few questions about demons. I've seen biblical demons but are Kelpies and such also demons or something else? And what else is out there that I don't know about yet?"  
Asp chuckled darkly. "Not holding back are you kid? Good, makes my job easier. Basically almost all the stories humans have of things inhuman and not 'natural' are real in some form or other. All supernatural creatures are demons but only a few are demons as humans know them. Demon is more a classification, like Animal kingdom."  
Jack nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense I guess. But what did you mean earlier by 'job'? Why exactly are you helping me?"  
"That...is a bit trickier," Asp mused. "I guess I'm helping you because I want to get out of this knife. If you get powerful enough, you'll be able to remove the bindings keeping me in here."  
...  
"This one has news for the great one and Lord Jack." The small bluish wisp said as it flew into the apartment.   
Sam darted over to the newcomer and Jack turned from where he was making coffee.  
"What's going on?" He asked the little demon, his mouth full of toast.  
"The Lady of the Court at the place the humans call Clara Bog wishes you to meet her." The wisp was practically vibrating with nerves.   
"It's either really good or really bad that the neighboring Demon in charge wants to meet you," Asp snickered.  
"Thanks for telling us," Jack said to the little wisp, who bowed and left.  
"What exactly am I supposed to do?" He asked Asp and Sam. "I'm gonna go but how do I do this?"  
"The first thing you need to know is that you should NEVER offend your neighbors by showing up unarmed." Asp stressed. Jack made a questioning noise and he continued, "it's like saying 'you're so weak I don't even need weapons to defeat you.' Very offensive. Also be wary of surprise attacks. They'll be testing you to see if you'll be worth even considering an alliance with, WHICH if we're lucky we might get."  
Jack nodded. Made sense. Then he remembered something the other wisp had said earlier he'd noticed.   
"Hey Sam? Why did the other wisp call you 'great one'?"  
Asp chuckled and answered for the little glowy.  
"He got a name FROM his lord, IN his lord's style. Is it any wonder they respect him?"  
...  
The sun was starting to set by the time the tense half an hour bus ride was over and let Jack out a bit away from the nature preserve. Asp offered last minute advice from the backpack as he walked with Sam on his shoulder.  
When he got to the parking lot he stopped and took a deep breath. Spreading his fingers he allowed his human skin to tear away up past his elbows, exposing the wicked claws and thorny armor he'd 'inherited' from the demon who'd started this whole thing. Some of his wisps started appearing behind him, making a warning hissing-vibrating noise, Sam being the loudest.  
Far off in the marsh, a couple crows sprang up, screaming.  
"They know we're here now," Asp murmured quietly.  
Exhaling softly, Jack listened hard for any sound hiding in the wisps' hum. Maybe...there!  
A bladed whip cracked through the air where he'd been standing two seconds before. Jack narrowed his eyes, closely watching the lean old man holding the weapon.  
The man straightened up and laughed, a hoarse creaky sound.  
"Not bad boy. There might be some hope yet." He turned and gestured for Jack to follow. "The Lady is expecting you."  
Jack followed warily, Sam still humming warningly on his shoulder as the other wisps took up the rear. The old man led the group along a winding boardwalk through the bog.  
"So, what's yer name lad?"  
"Jack, you?"   
"Don't remember my real name, everyone just calls me Old Dullahan." The old man answered cheerfully.  
Jack blinked. "Wait, really?"  
His guide sighed before reaching up and twisting his head off, carrying it under one arm.  
"Cool," Jack murmured.  
After about ten minutes they came to a lantern lit pavilion area.  
The Lady and her Court were indeed waiting for them. Pookas jostled drake-lings for good seats, nymphs eyed the newcomers curiously, and flocks of birds and other creatures he couldn't even begin to guess at perched along the lantern strings.  
The Lady herself was ancient. She sat on a wicker rocking chair in a beaded shawl that reminded Jack of dragonfly wings. When she saw Old Dullahan leading in the new neighbors, her face broke into a smile that smoothed some of the wrinkles from her face.  
Her eyes trailed over Jack's horns, his claws, and the wisps, judging and weighing.  
Jack did his best not to squirm under the old woman's gaze.  
There was nothing obvious about her that screamed supernatural but a shiver ran up his spine anyway as her sharp eyes looked him over.  
After a long moment she nodded, obviously finding what she'd been looking at pleasing.  
"You have a good heart young one," she said in a voice that sounded like the wind through leaves. "The Sight has never led me astray yet and I doubt it will do so now. No doubt you are wondering why I called you here?"  
"Yes Madam," Jack said, ducking his head a bit respectfully, not quite sure where the 'madam' bit had come from but she seemed to like it anyway. The old woman nodded.  
"At first I nearly wished to meet my new neighbors. Now that I've seen you however... I'm old young one. I was old when people first found this area. It has been wonderful, but I fear my time in this earthly realm grows short. I have long wished for an Heir. But until now I have been unable to find one."  
One of the pookas stepped forward with a small cup of tea, which the Lady took and sipped, smiling at the pooka. Her voice then became velvet covered steel.  
"Make no mistake young man, I do not make this choice lightly. Make me regret it and it will not end well for you."   
"I will do my best not to let you down Madam," Jack assured her.  
The ancient crone relaxed a bit in her rocking chair. "We will be watching you for a while, call it a probationary period, but you will be the next in line for my territory and my vassals. Treat them well young man."   
He assured her he would and she waved a wrinkled hand, prompting Old Dullahan to show them out.  
When the dazed group got back to the parking lot, Asp broke the silence.   
"Well that went better than expected."  
...  
"Sir we have received news the Old Crone might have appointed an Heir."  
His boss growled. "Foolish old woman! I am the most powerful demon on this island, I should've been the obvious choice of an Heir!"  
The minion wisely said nothing.  
Another growl came from the shadowy office. Then the demon chuckled.  
"Send our best assassin after her Heir. I want his head on my desk before the end of the month."  
The minion bowed and scurried out of the room as fast as he could.  
Behind the desk, the demon laced his fingers together and chuckled again, the sound like a knife on a chalkboard.   
"Looks like I'll just have to prove to Granny who the worthy inheriter really is..." He mused.


	6. Leader?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Demon mafia because why not?

It started small.  
At first it was just some 'lesser' demons from around town approaching him with their problems, or just to talk.  
Then Jack found out that some Sight gifted (normal humans who were able to see the supernatural, usually because of a childhood brush with a demon) were abusing the brownie population in the local community college. Of course, he couldn't stand for that so he made sure their tormentors wouldn't be able to even look in the direction of their college without gibbering in terror (he didn't HARM them, just...made sure they saw the error of their ways).  
Then there was the homeless pooka whom he invited to stay with him for the weekend. She ended up making a home for herself at the park with the wisps. She sent him a different wildflower every day.  
Then there was the pixie who had her wings ripped off by a cat.  
And the selkie from the farmers market who always sent him a piece of nice seafood every Thursday because he'd helped her daughter deal with some particularly mean bullies.  
And the traveling gargoyle troop who asked for directions to the nearest cathedral.  
And the troll-gryphon riot he'd helped settle.  
And countless other small things that slowly began to add up...unknowingly, Jack was making quite the reputation for himself in the supernatural community.  
...  
Carefully easing himself out of the starry-eyed group of dryads, Jack sat down on the park bench. The nature spirits continued looking around and chatting with each other and the wisps.  
"This is the fifth group this month that showed up with gifts. Where am I going to put twenty saplings?"  
"Kid, you're the heir to one of the most respected demons in Ireland, and parts of Europe too. She's practically royalty. Of course demons are gonna want to be on the good side of someone like that." Asp laughed from his place on the table. Jack face-palmed.  
"You never told me this heir thing meant I was going to become fuckin demon royalty!" He groaned. Demon royalty. What the fuck. He'd dropped out of college twice and now they wanted him to be in charge. Time to panic.  
"I shouldn't have to! Besides, they aren't just coming because you're the heir to the Lady, most are coming because they already consider you a leader." Asp huffed.  
Jack blinked in confusion.  
"Kid...until you came along, no one as high up as you've managed to jump would've even glanced at a selkie brat having a hard time."  
"Ellie's a good kid," Jack argued.   
"Yeah, but no one would've cared. Also, they wouldn't have helped out brownies-"  
"Like hell I was gonna allow them to be treated that way, no on deserves that!"  
"They would've left our wingless pixie friend to be cat food-"  
"That's not right!"  
"That's snooty 'higher' demons. The 'lessers' have found someone who cares and actually wants to help them!"  
"I only did what anyone would've done..." Jack murmured, looking over at where some toddler-aged spirits were tumbling over each other like a litter of puppies.  
"Well in our world, 'anyone' is a pretty small list." Asp sassed. "   
"Kid, you haven't been a demon a year and already creatures up and down the country know who you are. You're their hero. Holy shit when did I get so damn sappy?!"  
Jack laughed even as he thought over what Asp said. 'It's like YouTube all over again,' he realized.  
A baby tree spirit with maple leafs in pigtails wandered up and hugged him before toddling back to her playmates.  
Making a decision, he got up and went over to let the little cuties climb all over him (one even tried to use his horn as a teething ring, but that was alright, he didn't know any better, he assured the kid's profusely apologizing mother)  
...  
The next day when an assassin snuck in with the dryads and tried to kill him, he reaffirmed his opinion on it being like YouTube. You always find haters wherever you go.  
The guy could apparently take the form of a swarm of wasps.  
And against small lightning quick opposition, his claws couldn't really do that much.  
The wisps managed to corral the swarm as Jack swiped at the half formed asshole.  
Of course, the coward, upon realizing he was outmaneuvered and had lost the element of surprise, tried to take a hostage.  
"Stop squirming you fucking brat!" The assassin snarled in the ear of the little dryad girl from the previous day. The little maple spirit only wriggled harder, half-choked sobs and pleas for her mother spilling out of her mouth. She only stopped when the asshole held a knife to her throat, but she kept crying silently, glaring at him in the 'I hate you, go explode' way that little kids have.  
Jack snarled silently as he carefully inched closer, not making any sudden movements. The assassin's head whipped up and he grinned over at Jack.  
"Don't think I don't see you! Stay right where you are!"  
Growling, Jack stopped even as he smiled a bit internally.  
The idiot had become mostly solid when he'd taken a hostage, and while he was focused on Jack, Sam and some other wisps were gathering behind the assassin's back.  
Jack flicked his fingers and the wisps tore through the swarm construct and swept up the little girl. Before the asshole could react, Jack tackled him into the river.  
Unlike the last time he'd fought something here, the river wasn't fighting him every step of the way. And his opponent found that it becomes very hard for insects to fly when they're waterlogged.  
After a good ten minutes, the assassin crawled onto the bank, his once-again solid body covered in wounds and coughing water out of its lungs. Jack followed, still incredibly pissed off, and would've happily ended the guy if a huge gilded spear hadn't suddenly lodged itself in his back.  
Gesturing for the wisps to get the dryads away from here, Jack glanced suspiciously at the guy pulling the spear out of the river mud and picking up the honey colored soul.  
"Who the hell're you?!"


	7. How You Get Shit Done

The stranger didn’t respond to Jack’s snarled question. Instead he closed his gloved fist around the small honey-colored soul and squeezed until it dissolved into tiny motes of the same colored light. He wiped the smear that was left across the blade of the spear, murmuring “God is my strength and power: and He maketh my way perfect. 2 Samuel 22:33.”  
The spear made a noise like a chime. The man rubbed the elaborate cross charm pinned to the breast pocket of his white dress shirt. Then he twirled the spear like a baton and pointed it at Jack.  
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whome he may devour. Francis Quarles.” He said. “Nex ut diabolus.”  
Jack tensed. The guy didn’t register as a demon, so that meant he’d have to defend against a religious fanatic with weapons training. Which meant paper trails, so he couldn’t deal with this the way he’d dealt with other threats, not if he didn’t want the police coming down on his head for murder. Fantastic.   
“LEAVE MR. JACK ALONE!” the same young tree spirit from earlier had slipped free of her mother’s grasp, run over, and kicked the stranger as hard as she could in the shin, startling everyone. Reacting instinctively to the action, the stranger was about to bring his weapon down on the little girl when Jack darted forward and snatched her out of the path of the blade, jumping back out of the spear’s range.  
“T’e fock’s wrong with you?!” he snarled at the stranger. “She’s a kid!”  
The stranger stared at Jack and the child spirit for a long moment, shock written all over his face.   
“You…care for her?” he finally asked softly. Jack didn’t respond, glaring at the man in suspicion.  
The spear chimed again, whispering softly “If I got rid of my demons, I’d lose my angels too. Tennessee Williams.”  
The man thought for a moment and nodded. He lowered the blade of the spear to the ground. “It seems I owe you and the young lady an apology.”  
“Most Definitely.”  
Everyone froze at that. The Lady swept down the hill on a dragon-horse, her beaded shawls clicking softly. Her gaze passed over them all, sharp as a winter wind. When her eyes fell on Jack and the little nature spirit clinging to him, they softened and she smiled at him. Then she turned to the stranger.  
“And who are you then, to come here uninvited and insult my heir in such a way?” her voice held the sour sharpness of an unripe apple and her eyes flashed. Straightening up, the man sketched a hasty bow, understanding that if she didn’t like his answer, he could kiss life goodbye. “I am Alexander Aelius, Lady. I do not often receive the opportunity to come across demons who do not wish humans harm and am afraid I acted rashly. I sincerely apologize.”  
She eyed the cross on his shirt and sighed softly. “Yes I imagine one such as you would be unfamiliar with the other sides of supernaturals.” Turning her mount, she moved to Jack’s side.   
“You did very well,” she smiled. “Come to my home tomorrow and I will teach you everything I can remember. You’re going to need a few more tricks in your arsenal if you’re already attracting assassins.”  
The Lady chuckled softly. “So young and already attracting assassins. I didn’t fight off my first assassin until I was three times your age.” She mused.  
Jack blinked. “…Thank you?”  
The lady beamed at him, moving to head back up the hill. As she passed Alexander, who was trying to be quiet and unobtrusive, she grabbed him by the ear, ignoring his yelp.  
“You, young man, are going to come with me and explain just what those idiots taught you.” She said, the picture of elderly sweetness, but everyone could hear the dangerous edge just behind it.  
“Y-yes ma’am,” he winced, stumbling after her. “OOOH, you’re in trou~ble!” his spear sing-songed.  
Jack snickered as the two went off together.  
…  
“Sir? The assassin hasn’t returned… we suspect him to be dead-“  
“Get out of my sight.” His superior’s voice was dangerously quiet so the lower ranked demon bolted for the door. He knew better than to be around the boss when he got like this. There was a reason he was second most senior secretary and it wasn’t for being stupid.  
Once the door had closed behind the lower rank, the demon behind the desk roared out his rage, slamming his hands into his desk until the wood splintered and warped around his fingers.  
“Tut, tut, Grandson. I know you have better manners than that.” Came the hated voice from over his shoulder. Turning, the demon pasted a fake smile on his face.  
“Granny, so good to see you. You’re looking good.” The honeyed words tasted like ashes on his tongue, but he’d work through it to get what he wanted. She obviously had seen sense and was coming to name him heir, as was his right…  
The Lady grinned, dropping all pretense of civility. It wasn’t a nice grin. It was the kind of grin that made you feel ice needles in your veins and maggots under your skin. Her grandson barely had time to think ‘oh shit,’ before gravity seemed to triple and an invisible hand slammed him back onto the ruins of his desk.   
“The blood of my daughter in your veins is the only reason I have let you be this long. No more. You have crossed several lines dear boy, and I’m afraid you won’t be able to squirm your way out of this one.” Her voice was dry and it creaked like a tree in a thunderstorm.  
Indeed, the demon trapped on the desk was squirming. He writhed against his invisible bonds and bared fangs at the old crone.  
She patted his cheek with a wrinkled hand. “You probably won’t believe this, but I did love you at one point. This will hurt me.”  
“You can’t kill me,” he sneered, spittle flying between jagged teeth. “You were always too soft Granny!”  
She smiled. “Oh, I’m not going to kill you deary. He is.” She nodded over his shoulder and he craned his head back. All color vanished from his face and his struggles became more frantic.  
“Where’d you find one of them?!” he howled. His only answer was the singing sound of air over a moving blade and softly murmured words.  
“The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. Psalm 58:10.”  
The screams lasted for hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nex ut Diabolus - the motto of this mysterious new group :3


	8. Yet Another Hostage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoops

"Keep up devil," Alex taunted, lunging forward. Jack narrowly avoided getting beheaded and snickered, whipping around to kick his opponents legs out from under him.   
Stumbling, Alex took a few steps back, assuming a defensive stance.   
Each fighter scanned the other for any hint of their next move. A pebble shifted under Alex's foot, causing his focus to shift ever so slightly. Jack took immediate advantage of this, darting forward to knock the spear loose from his opponent's hands and pin him.  
"I believe that is good enough for now boys," the Lady interrupted.  
Both of them straightened up, breathing hard and sweating.  
Flopping on the grass, Jack reached his arms above his head and stretched languidly, sighing in satisfaction as his spine popped.  
"You're getting better," Alex grinned. "All hard work brings a profit. -1/2 of Proverb 14:23."  
"Heh," Jack smiled.   
...  
The lady was good to her word. Every weekend, Jack would go over to the marsh and she would teach him something.  
He turned out to be terrible at possession, which he was fine with as it wasn't really something he was comfortable with. Felt like needles of ice in his spine.  
The lady thought that might be from being half human. But he could 'convince' people for a short period of time to do what he said, so that was a plus.  
She taught him a few spells too, all seemingly simple. But they had devastating effects in the right circumstances.  
Sam learned something too. He caught the attention of some kind of energy being who taught the little adorable light all about the joys of firing lasers.  
Then they got to summoning. The lady explained that unless the summoner was using a specific 'ritual' the results would be random choice among any of the 'biblical' style demons. As SankenJan had been one, Jack technically was too.  
...  
The first time he was summoned, Jack barely had time to acknowledge the odd tugging sensation just under his skin before he was pulled sideways into an acid trip of colors.   
He blinked and he was standing in a circle of red paint in what looked like a teenager's bedroom. True enough, there was a dingy looking kid sitting cross legged just outside the circle, looking just as shocked as Jack was.  
"It worked?!" The kid breathed in amazement.  
Jack shifted uncomfortably, putting his hands in his pockets.  
"So...what do you want?"  
"Uh, there's a guy at school, he stole my phone...To be honest, I wasn't really expecting anyone to show up, this was more of just something to make me feel better about it..."  
"Okay," Jack said, ruffling his hair. "Here's the deal. I can DO that, but you need to do something for me."  
The kid looked downcast and he quickly tried to backtrack.  
"It doesn't have to be something big, cause this isn't exactly a high priority job, I just need something to even things out! I don't really know why, but thems the rules."  
The kid bit his lip. "I have some tubs of ice cream in the freezer..."  
"That'll work," Jack grinned. He held out a clawed hand (as the summoning made all his 'demon-ness' visible to humans- claws, horns, all of it). "The ice cream for the phone. Do we have a deal?"  
Nodding, the kid reached forward to shake. "Deal." Green flames wrapped around their clasped hands for a moment and Jack's grin got sharper.  
Reaching out, his claws deftly caught something in the air and RIPPED. Reaching through  the hole, he pulled out the kid's phone.  
Handing it to the smiling kid, Jack stepped out of the summoning circle. "So, ice cream?"  
The kid smirked. "I'll throw in a pizza if you prank the asshole who stole my phone."  
"Deal!"  
...  
Yawning widely, Jack handed his baggage over to the lady behind the desk, hardly noticing her wince at the slight cracking sound his jaw made. Sam and Asp were still asleep in his carry on bag, Asp disguised as a prop. He exhaled suddenly, the rubber and chemical smell of the airport stinging the back of his throat.  
"Tell me again, why did I agree to this?" He asked, turning to Alexander.  
"Because the Lady threatened you with everything she could think of if you didn't take a team with you due to America's ongoing demon Faction Wars." The devout man said dryly.  
"Oh yeah," Jack yawned again, rubbing his eyes. He'd been up all night dealing with a cult summoning. The fuckers just didn't know when to quit.  
"You can always sleep on the plane Boss," the bubbly water spirit next to him suggested.  
Jack nodded gratefully at her as they walked to security.  
It took less than fifteen minutes to get through and find their gate, and the three arrived just as their plane started boarding.  
Jack took a window seat and was asleep before the plane even left the gate. He woke up about an hour before they landed and the three spent the time swapping stories.  
Alexander, it turned out, had grown up with his brother in various cities in Italy. Their parents weren't exactly...present, so when they along with his brother died as a result of a demonic attack, his grudge against demons mostly rose from the death of his brother. He regretted his parents deaths but he was never really torn up about them.  
He'd been taken in by a priest who worked for the Corde-Puro Academy, one of the few schools in the world that made exorcists.  
And when he was of age, he joined their ranks, taking missions all over the world in order to lessen the threat of demons. On one of these missions, he'd met Mercy, the demon entrapped in his spear. At the beginning of their partnership Mercy was quite rebellious. It was only recently they'd both felt truly comfortable in their deal.  
The bubbly water spirit, who's name was Rowana (though she went by Ro). She'd been kidnapped as a child by human gang members for her ability to hear people's auras as music. They were interested in this because this made it almost impossible to lie to Ro. As a result of her power she was almost constantly humming, tapping, or singing quietly along with the people around her.  
She was a good fighter, which surprised most people who looked at her delicate limbs, porcelain features, and cheery personality and assumed she was a naive airhead. They couldn't see the core of steel behind her violet eyes that helped her survive her time as a captive.  
Jack told them stories about his family, of childhood friends and silly moments.  
They were still laughing about something stupid he'd done as a child when they stepped off the plane.  
Jack had purposely scheduled his flight a day early so he could take a nap when he got there and sort of re-orient himself, timewise. The hotel wasn't far luckily so all three grabbed something to eat before heading up to put their stuff in their rooms.  
They were posing as a group of friends from Ireland, which wasn't hard, and was kinda true anyway, so they had adjoining rooms. Alex and Ro immediately called the room with the bigger beds so Jack grinned and dumped his stuff in a corner of his room and crawled under the covers. He was out in a minute.  
...  
Later that evening, Jack brought Ro and Alex with him to the bar where he was supposed to meet up with Mark, Wade, Bob, Felix, and the others.  
The outside of the bar wasn't exactly modern, preferring a more traditional look of black brick and metal. It appeared to be emulating the dangerous but alluring side of the city, and it worked.  
Inside, the bar was dimly lit, not overly crowded but a decent headcount. His senses immediately pulled his attention to the patrons frequenting the half of the bar farthest from the door. The crowd seemed to be comprised of vampires and shifters tonight, with the odd more exotic demon here and there. Most of them were quietly chatting or enjoying the drinks with only a few in the very back getting slightly rowdy.  
Alex put a hand on his shoulder. "I've been to a couple of these kinds of bars before-"  
"I thought you didn't drink?" Jack wondered out loud.  
Alex looked at him in slight annoyance. "I don't. I come for information. Don't make trouble and no one will look at you twice."  
Jack nodded and sat at a large booth to wait for the others while Alex and Ro took a table directly between him and the more ...fantastical customers.  
It didn't take long for everyone to arrive as a noisy cheerful group, immediately putting a smile on Jack's face. As everyone sat down and hugs and jokes flew around the table, a waiter came over with a menu and a decidedly nervous look on his face. His third eye and pale blue skin went without notice by most of their table as they ordered, although Jack kept one eye on him anyway, just in case.   
As the man was about to leave, he tapped Jack on the shoulder with a thin finger, quietly asking to speak with him.  
Waving away the other's concerns with a smile, he followed the waiter away from their table for a few steps.  
"Um, s-sir, I was only wondering if we should expect any trouble...? I'm sorry if the question offends you but it's policy to ask any new special patrons that..." The waif-like man stammered, his third eye blinking rapidly.  
Jack shook his head. "If no body bothers me, I won't go looking for trouble," he said quietly, giving the man a reassuring smile as he turned to go back to the table.  
"What did he want to talk to you about Jack?" Felix asked.  
Jack looked over at the bar, where the thin waiter was whispering to to bartender. He  gave Jack a measured look and nodded. Message received.  
"Just asking me about my order," he heard himself say.  
He spent the meal having very enjoyable conversation with his friends, laughing and joking around. They were just starting to wrap things up-actually most of Jack's friends had already left to get some sleep before the convention the next day- when a vampire whose generous alcohol consumption made him either very brave or very foolish, slung an arm around Mark's shoulder and slurred out "Hey Hottie, why don't you ditch these losers and come have a bite with me at my place?"  
Of course with his fangs and as drunk as he was, it was mostly garbled but his intention was perfectly clear.  
Mark frowned at him and declined, trying to wiggle loose, but unfortunately even a drunk vampire is a more than a match for a human. Standing up, Jack grabbed the guy's arm and snarled: "I THINK he isn't interested. Fuck off."  
The vamp growled. "I ain't scared of you!" His drunken friends started grouping up behind him.   
The other patrons, sensing a fight, moved out of the way, while still keeping a close eye on everything.  
Alex and Ro stood up behind Jack, staring down the undeads.  
The vamp who'd tried to make a move on Mark threw a sloppy punch and Jack tackled him into a table, breaking off a fang with a few well placed punches to the face. All around him, drunks were flailing about with fists, chairs, and beer bottles, though they mostly hit each other rather than their intended targets. This lent a certain comedy and enjoyablity to the fight- for the ones beating up the drunks anyway.  
Alex was alongside Jack in the thick of it, while Ro kept any overzealous vamps from reaching the human part of the group (at this point it was just Mark left in the bar)  
It didn't take very long to wrap things up. Jack had had a few drinks (and Alex had none at all) but was miles away from the state of the vamps, who smelled like they had been bathing in their drinks. Who knows, they might have been.  
Jack had just finished apologizing to the bartender and agreed to leave a generous tip when Alex spun him around.  
"Ro was knocked unconscious and Mark is gone!" He hissed in Jack's ear as he helped a woozy Ro stand and walk out with them.  
Jack immediately scanned the street for any sign of Mark. Nothing. His heart rate, having picked up during the fight began speeding up again for less enjoyable reasons this time.  
"Excuse me."  
A red demon in a cheap suit stood to the side. He smirked at them with crooked teeth.  
"I believe my employer would like to discuss something with you."  
"I don't have time-," Jack snarled, only to be cut off by more demons stepping out from a nearby alley, Mark bound and gagged between them.  
"I wasn't asking." The demon's grin took a distinctly unpleasant turn. "If you want your fragile little human friend to remain intact, you will follow us."  
Jack rubbed his eyes with a hand, frustration making him antsy. "Goddamnit, what is it with me and hostage situations?" He grumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Jack, I'm lazy


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH   
> have a nice day!
> 
>  
> 
> Forgot to mention this before but Ro the character doesn't belong to me. She belongs to this person here: http://wraythskitzifrenik.deviantart.com/

The red demon smirked, closing his eyes and snapping his fingers. A ring of gold dust encircled the group and the world around them blurred. The dust settled and Jack's eyes widened.   
They were in a large decrepit warehouse, standing on a balcony overlooking the hoard of demons rushing around the concrete floor. But that wasn't what had drawn his attention.  
Standing with his back to the group, a suit wearing demon made of solid smoke, grinned up at a giant floating crystal containing a much larger version of himself. The hoard had leaned ladders up against the mammoth crystal and chipped away at it constantly, the fragments being gathered and carried off somewhere else.  
Something about what they were doing to the thing in the crystal felt...wrong. The presence of the demon overseeing it all felt like sand paper against his skin. Jack instinctively started growling softly.  
"Now is that any way to greet someone?" The suit wearing demon chuckled, turning to 'face' the group.  
Even though he couldn't see any eyes, Jack had the uncomfortable feeling of the demon looking him over.  
Then it's 'gaze' traveled to his companions.  
It snorted. "You travel with a human and an exorcist?! You two are disgraces," it said, voice dripping with malice.  
Immediately some of the lackey demons aimed weapons at Alex, not having realized he was an exorcist. Ro made a move to stop them and the smoke demon gestured for them to pin her.  
A smaller demon that had been standing by the red demon that brought them there grabbed Jack's arms and wrenched them behind him. Furious, he made to break away when the smoke demon spoke.  
"You probably shouldn't do that," it said, voice full of feigned concern. It gestured at the minions holding his friends. "One wrong move and they're dead!" It informed him cheerfully.  
"What the hell do you want?!" Jack snarled, body tense.  
"At the moment? A good steak dinner." The demon said, purposely misunderstanding. "And a side of destruction and mayhem," it mused. "But I can see you're a bit of a wild one. So why don't you convince him, Jeff?"  
The red demon smirked, walking around until he was standing directly in front of Jack. He put a scaled hand on his cheek and Jack tried to jerk his head away.  
"None of that," Jeff grinned, eyes spiraling to gold. "You just want to help us out, don't you~?"  
Jack felt something wash over him, a little voice in the back of his mind whispering that yes he should, this was all he wanted...  
Gritting his teeth, Jack struggled against the leaden feeling of his limbs as the magic tried to make him submit. Sweat was starting to bead on Jeff's forehead as he poured more power into the compulsion. He wasn't smiling any more.  
Jerking his head to the side, Jack sunk his teeth into the red demon's hand and TWISTED, ignoring the taste of rancid copper on his tongue.  
Jeff howled, pulling back. With a loud ripping sound, he left two of his fingers behind, splattering the floor with brownish black blood.   
Jack spat the two digits into the floor, baring bloodstained teeth at the smoke demon.  
"Oh... I so wish you hadn't done that..." It mused. "If we'd been able to talk this out like civilized people, then I wouldn't have to do this..."  
Black smoke boiled off its figure, coiling itself in the air as the body in the suit it had been possessing slumped to the floor, dead and rotting.  
Darting forward, the smoke cloud completely enveloped Mark, the demons holding him immediately stepping away to a respectful distance.  
Mark's body spasmed and he started to say something but got cut off.  
He stumbled forward a step and straightened.  
Jack hissed. Alex grimaced and Ro whimpered.  
Black smoke swirled around Mark's body as he smirked in a decidedly un-Mark-like way.  
"Aw, how cute, you actually care about this one~"  
It was Mark's voice...but it was clear he wasn't home anymore...  
...  
(Mark's POV)  
He couldn't breathe he wasn't breathing ohgodhewasgoingtodie-  
Numb. Everything felt numb, even his eyeballs.  
He blinked. Or tried to. His body wasn't responding. He tried to open his mouth to say something only for nothing to happen! His confusion and panic spiked, and he idly realized that even though his heart should have been pounding like crazy from his emotional state and NOT BEING ABLE TO BREATH!- it wasn't.   
His lips curled into a smile and his head tilted without him wanting it to.  
"Aw, how cute, you actually care about this one~"   
It was his voice but he definitely wasn't speaking. There was a darker undertone, sick suggestions bubbling up and twining with the words that fell off his tongue with no input from him. Mark tried to breath, speak, move his own body a fraction of an inch even!  
It was no use. There was something else here, pulling the strings and he was just along for the ride.   
As his body moved -WITHOUT HIM, WHAT THE FUCK HOW?!- Mark realized the thing moving him was smirking at Jack with his face.  
Why...why did Jack have horns?! Mark tried to glance around to see more, momentarily forgetting he wasn't in control. It was understandable. He'd been the only one in control of his body for all his life, only for something to go horribly wrong here.   
The whole span of his vision flickered, and if he'd still been in control his heart would've jumped into his mouth.   
No, no nononoono! Don't leave him in the dark with that Thing in charge of his body!   
Don't leave me!  
He wanted to scream.  
He wanted to cry.  
To beg.  
Anything would be better than that. He didn't understand why but he just knew that he would not come back from that.  
'Anything huh?' Something chuckled behind his ear-no, in his head. It was a voice made of a void of sound, and Mark could FEEL his mind beginning to unravel at the sound.  
Suddenly he could see-!  
Oh.  
Oh god.  
No.  
He was 'looking' inward, if that made any sense, and there was something there. In his head. There was something THERE and he couldn't get AWAY! He NEEDED to GET AWAY-   
A black limb -he thought is was a limb anyway, it made him hurt to look at it- made of smoke and a tar-like substance lashed out and all he could know was pain.  
Mark howled into the darkness but the shadow with a shape was the only one to hear him.  
...  
"What's the matter? A little scared?" The demon possessing Mark grinned.  
"Get the fuck out of him you son of a bitch!" Jack roared.  
'Mark' snickered. "No can do, I'm afraid."  
Behind him, Ro whispered softly "hold on."  
Alex's voice suddenly rang out strongly. "Crux sacra sit mihi lux! Nunquam Draco sit mihi dux! Vade retro Satana!"  
Jack sunk his claws into the metal floor as a wave of light flung all the minions off the balcony with a clatter and slammed 'Mark' into the wall. The light tried to wash him away too, but he hung on and it was soon gone.  
"We have company..." Ro said grimly.  
Alex's stunt, while freeing them, had attracted the attention of the entire hoard of demons working the lower floor.  
Tendrils of water wrapped around 'Mark', trapping him.  
"I will try to exorcise him; you take care of the cannon fodder," Alex said, turning and seating himself in front of Mark's struggling form. He began quietly speaking in Latin as Ro kept the possessed YouTuber still.  
Jack grinned darkly, turning to the hoard. Planting his hands on the railing, he smoothly tucked his legs up underneath him and swung over, dropping down to land in a crouch on the concrete. Spreading his claws, he cracked his neck. He had some frustration to work out.  
...  
Slash.  
Duck.  
Turn.  
Weave.  
Pop a couple souls in his mouth from his now dead opponents and move on.  
It was easily to fall into a routine.  
He didn't have to think about the convention tomorrow. He didn't have to think about Mark. He just had to move, keeping everyone and everything away from Alex, Ro, and Mark.  
Jack turned, and started to move into a strike only to stop. There was nothing there for him to strike. All the opponents were laying at his feet, forming a macabre sort of trail through the bodies. Some were crumbling to dust even as he pondered this.  
Taking a deep breath, Jack turned and headed back up to the balcony.  
Mark was laid out flat on the floor, Alex kneeling by his head, chanting quietly.  
Ro stood off to one side, ready for whatever happened next.  
Dropping to a crouch next to Alex, Jack stared as the exorcist struggled against the cloud of black smoke.  
His hand was covered with the same light from earlier and he had a tight grip on the smoke as it squirmed in his grip, trying to wriggle back into Mark. The smoke was still connected to him by thin trails.  
Faint screeches echoed from within the smoke cloud. In response, Alex barked a short line in Latin. The screeches grew louder and just when the thin trails of smoke linking the demon to Mark were stretched so thin any more force would be sure to snap them, it sent a thicker tendril into his mouth, yanking out a small orange light.  
Alex swore loudly and Jack immediately reached out, gently pulling the soul out from the demon's grip.  
Because that's what it was.  
Jack carefully cupped Mark's soul in his hands and stared in wonder.  
His mouth watered and he bit his lip, firmly chiding himself. Mark's soul was NOT going to be eaten, especially not by him.  
Alex was busy cramming the still screaming smoke cloud into a tiny box to put in his bag when Ro gasped.  
Jack looked down. Mark wasn't breathing. His eyes stared glassily up at the ceiling as a pool of blood slowly spread out from the back of his head.  
Carefully, Jack cradled Mark's soul in one hand and used the other to roll his friend's head to the side.  
A hole in the back of his head, from where the overzealous demon had yanked out his soul in a sort of childish hissy fit.  
'If I can't have it, no on can.'  
Jack choked back a small sob, cradling his friend's soul to his chest. Rage and sorrow clouded his mind. He took a deep breath.  
Turning to Alex he asked, "Isn't there anything you can do?"  
The exorcist shook his head, gazing at the floor in quiet melancholy.  
"What about a deal Boss?" Ro asked desperately. Her gaze flicked to over his shoulder and she frowned. Tendrils of water sped past him, dragging forward a bleeding and cursing Jeff, murder in his eyes.  
A flick of water spikes and the body went limp, dissolving into gold dust. "Would his soul do?" She asked, holding out the small tarnished looking light.  
Hope rose like a bubble in his chest, only to freeze. Flexing the fingers of his free hand, Jack looked the demon over and looked back at Ro.  
"I-it's not enough..." He whispered. Rage and helplessness surged. It WASN'T FAIR, it SHOULD HAVE BEEN enough, but IT WASN'T! He couldn't tell how he knew but it made him even more angry.  
Mark was dead. And he wasn't able to do ANYTHING-  
A sickening tearing and pop sound caught his attention and his eyes refocused on Ro.  
She was holding out one of her eyes. Her hand was shaking from the pain and she was crying (blood and tears), but her resolve was clear.  
Jack looked down. He knew it would be enough now but he felt...selfish and ashamed almost for her to feel the need to do that so he could get back a friend (also the SOUNDS the eye made as it was being pulled out; ewwww).  
He looked at her again. She smiled comfortingly. 'Maybe just this once... It's ok to be selfish...' He thought.  
His hand swirled with green fire as she took it, sealing it.  
"Deal."  
The demon soul and eye dissolved into more of his green fire and Jack cupped his friend's soul in both hands, before carefully opening the body's mouth and dropping it in.  
He kept one hand over the mouth and put the other over the heart, pouring power into the cooling body. He focused especially on the hole in the back of Mark's head.  
His breath started coming in shorter bursts but he kept at it, ignoring Alex's concerned hand on his shoulder.  
Just when the power was falling to a trickle and he felt like giving up, he felt it. A soft movement under his palm.  
A grin split his face as Mark's heart resumed its steady beat.  
His chest rose and fell as his lungs filled with air and a soft groan escaped his lips.  
Slowly lifting a hand, Mark rubbed his eyes and tried to sit up.  
"Jack?...wha' happened?" He asked, voice foggy with 'sleep'.  
"You got knocked unconscious," Jack said quietly, helping his friend get up, trying to contain his happiness.  
Slinging an arm over his shoulder, he gently helped Mark stand.  
Mouthing a silent thank you to Ro, who was carefully arranging her hair to cover her missing eye once Alex finished with basic first aid, he closed his eyes and focused.  
He'd used the guy's soul for power, so theoretically this should work...  
A ring of green dust wound around them and the world shifted.  
Now standing in his hotel room, Jack carefully laid Mark down on the couch.  
As he straightened up, his friend giggled sleepily and ran a finger over his left horn.  
"When did you get horns Jack?" Mark asked.  
Jack pulled back, more than a little terrified, when Alex put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.  
"Don't worry. The Sight probably won't come to him for a month or two, he's just talking about what he saw while possessed. But when he wakes up he probably won't remember anything from tonight. What with possession and coming back to life, he will be more than a little dizzy and confused tomorrow."  
Jack looked back down at Mark only to see him fast asleep.  
Relaxing a bit, he nodded and the other two started to head back to their room.  
"I'm sorry Ro," he said.  
She looked back and smiled. "It was my choice Boss. It's obvious how much your friends mean to you."  
Everyone got ready for bed.  
Just as he was about to fall asleep, Jack heard Asp speak up from the bag beside the bed.  
"So, kid, what'd I miss?"  
Groaning, Jack rolled over.  
"GoodNIGHT Asp."  
...  
In the other room, the smoke demon squirmed as the last piece of him managed to squeeze out of the damn Exorcist's trap. Weak and nervous, it headed back to the warehouse.  
Carefully it flowed over the surface of the crystal, searching for a place where it was thin enough to push through.  
A thicker tendril of smoke suddenly lashed out from the being inside the crystal, trapping the smaller smoke demon.  
"F-father, I-!"  
"SILENCE. IT SEEMS YOU MUST CONSTANTLY DISAPPOINT ME. I SAID THAT I DID NOT WISH TO BE DISTURBED, AND WHAT DID YOU DO?"  
The smaller demon quaked in the larger's grip.  
"DISTURBED ME!" The newly freed demon roared.  
"NOW, I AM IN NEED OF A SNACK. LET US HOPE YOU ARE NOT SO DISAPPOINTING IN THIS REGARD."  
The smaller demon was unceremoniously devoured, still screaming.  
The larger demon turned to one of the broken windows.   
"LET US SEE HOW MUCH THE WORLD HAS CHANGED IN MY ABSENCE."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alex's chant - "May the holy cross be my light! May the dragon never be my guide! Begone Satan!"


	10. Nightmares and Smoking

"Jack...c'mon it's time to wake up!"  
Groaning softly, Jack buried his face into his pillow. "G'way, Mark, don' wanna get up..."  
There was a long pause before icy cold fingers wrapped around his throat and SQUEEZED, making his eyes snap open as he fought to get air into his lungs. The hands yanked him to an upright seated position so he could get a good look at their owner.  
"M-Mark?!" Jack coughed out.  
His friend's hair hung limp and matted from blood, and his skin had a dull grey-green cast to it. Mark's eyes were glassy and his flesh seemed to be rotting off him. Jack had to choke back bile at the smell of something long dead and rotting wafting around the room, his eyes watering.  
"You...don't want...to get up." Mark's voice hissed out from that rotting throat as his cold hands tightened around Jack's neck. He chuckled in a raspy kind of way. "I...didn't get that choice. I was at peace, and YOU made me get up! Now I'm stuck like this because of YOU! This is YOUR FAULT!" He roared, tightening his grip with every shouted word.  
Jack's vision was starting to go black around the edges but he could still see it when The ligaments holding his friend's jaw in place gave up and the bloody bone wrapped in rotten flesh tumbled into his lap.  
Thousands of similarly rotting hands erupted from his mattress, clutching at him and dragging him down. Mark let go and took a step away.  
Jack tried to scream only for the cool richness of graveyard dirt to fill his mouth and clog his lungs. The hands kept pulling him down into the unforgiving earth and above it all, Mark's body looked down with blank eyes.  
...  
His entire body jerked, startling him awake. Sitting up, Jack scanned his room for any sign of danger or threat.  
When he didn't see anything but Mark sleeping peacefully on the couch, he took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart.  
'Was just a dream. Just a dream...' He told himself.  
Running a hand through his hair, Jack flopped back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. But he couldn't get Mark's words from the dream out of his head. Guilt wriggled in the back of his throat.  
His first day here and he'd already dragged one of his friends so far into his world he'd had to BRING THEM BACK FROM THE DEAD.   
Wonderful.  
He'd actually lost count of the lives he'd ended, the number of souls he'd devoured.  
How would his friends even react to that if he told them? Showed them?  
Jack snorted softly, glaring up at the ceiling in self deprecation. Run like hell probably. He was a monster now after all.  
He rolled onto his side, staring blankly at the glowing red numbers of the hotel's digital clock.  
3:13  
.  
.  
3:14  
Jack closed his eyes, though he didn't think he'd get any more sleep tonight.  
After about an hour of tossing and turning, he decided 'fuck it,' and just got up.  
He managed to get dressed and go to the bathroom without waking Mark, then just sat on the bed, scrolling through the notifications on his phone. He wasn't really paying attention though. He was busy flipping through all the things that could go wrong if Mark remembered fully what had happened last night.  
He could demand answers.  
He could reject him.  
He could be terrified of the monster Jack was now. That idea hurt him the most.  
Mark finally woke up around seven.  
Jack had to force himself not to show any of his nerves on his face as Mark sat up and rubbed his eyes.  
"Mm...Jack?" He seemed confused as he looked around Jack's hotel room. "What happened last night?"  
"What do you remember?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest.  
"We were at the bar an' there was a fight...then some guys jumped me and we were somewhere else...my memory's fuzzy but I know I wasn't drinking...What happened?"  
Jack shrugged. Inwardly he was doing a happy dance. He wouldn't have to fess up to Mark yet. Hopefully he never would.  
"I guess some assholes mistook me for someone else and we got dragged into a turf war or something," he lied, trying to seem truthful. "You got knocked unconscious just before the police showed up. I already talked to them and they don't want us to say anything or spread around what happened in case it makes any of the guys behind it run."  
Mark nodded and stood up. And immediately clutched at the couch arm, one hand on his head.  
"You ok?" Jack asked, moving closer.  
"Yeah... Just a really bad headache... I'll be fine." Mark waved him away, smiling.  
...  
Mark's headache was off and on the whole first day of the convention. He also had dizzy spells whenever he got up too fast, but he kept saying he was alright.  
Alex stopped by a couple times to have half whispered conversations with Jack. Ro was getting a bit more sleep but she'd join them around lunch.  
Jack actually managed to somewhat relax and the morning flew by, a blur of conversation and new faces.  
When he and Alex headed over to the food, Ro was waiting. She'd brushed some of her hair over her missing eye. Normal humans probably wouldn't have noticed anything out of the ordinary anyway, but she didn't want to take the chance.  
Jack didn't have too much for lunch, having had pretty big snack last night of a hoard of demon souls. Also there was this weird feeling hanging over him, like something was watching him, stalking him. It felt disturbingly like the thing trapped in the crystal they'd seen the other night.  
As he played with the small order of fries he'd gotten, the speakers squawked to life.  
"Attention everyone! There are reports of a gas leak in building B! Please remain calm and move away from all exits close to that location! Thank you."  
The group exchanged glances before getting up. "Any idea what it could be?" Jack asked Alex as the three darted through the crowd.  
"Well, it could be a lot of things," the exorcist said. "Or it could just be a gas leak."  
"Somehow I don't think so," Jack growled, the feeling of being watched was growing stronger the closer they got to the building. He just prayed this time they could wrap things up without dragging any of his friends (or any innocents for that matter) into the mess.  
Rounding a corner, Jack skidded to a stop, Ro and Alex being forced to stop as well or accidentally run him over.   
A crowd of people shuffled about, their heads wreathed in smoke exactly like the demon that possessed Mark. Only this was on a far larger scale.  
As one they turned and snarled at the newcomers, though Jack saw a couple fall to the ground, pedaling their feet like they were turtles. The demon didn't seem used to controlling this many bodies at once.  
"This is a possession so no deadly attacks unless absolutely necessary," Alex hissed quietly.  
"S-stop right there!" An unfamiliar voice shouted. They turned to see a terrified looking security guard aiming a taser at one of the possessed. When it ignored him, he electrocuted it. As the body fell over, sparking and twitching, the smoke surrounding the persons head momentarily dispersed before reappearing.  
All the action seemed to have done was draw the full attention of the demon. As one, the crowd turned to the guard and said "FOOLISH MORTAL, DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT WOULD WORK?"  
The guard started backing up.  
"Go help him, I've got an idea!" Alex said, sprinting low and away.  
Ro and Jack looked at each other and shrugged. Jack darted between the security guard and the crowd while Ro came up behind the man and helped him stand and move out of the way.  
A few of the closest possessed snarled and lurched forward, looking disturbingly similar to zombies. Jack swallowed his apprehension and the memory of his nightmare and growled right back.  
The closest reached for him, mouth wide, and Jack ducked under its outstretched hands, tackling it to the floor.   
Hands clamped down on his shoulder and he froze, recalling different colder hands pulling him down... Mark's glassy dead eyes watching...Guilty thoughts betrayed him. 'Your fault, your fault, your faultyourfaultyour-'  
Blunt human teeth closed over his shoulder and dug in, snapping him out of it. Hissing, he kicked the possessed away.  
Ro rejoined the fight, using streams of water to trip and pull away any possessed that got too close or got behind Jack.  
But even with her help, there were just so many possessed! And because they were humans being controlled by a demon, their usual methods of keeping opponents out of the fight couldn't be used.  
Hands reached out from the crowd, the mass of bodies pressing too close to actually move, grabbing, clutching, tearing...  
There was a mechanical hiss as the sprinkler system activated. Jack winced and jerked back whenever the droplets hit his skin. They stung like a bitch!  
Ro pulled her hoodie over her head and shivered, trying not to let the water touch her. Very strange for a water demon.  
But the real effects happened to the crowd. The possessed screeched in pain, crashing into each other in their haste to get away from the pain. Whole clumps of people went down in a tangle of limbs.  
The smoke clouds seemed to boil and shrink away from the water, so much so that some retreated from the people they were possessing entirely. Those joined with other clouds, seeking respite.  
Immediately Ro started dragging those people who got free out of the way, taking up a defensive stance between them and the recovering crowd.  
The sprinklers were starting to shut off and the possessed, enraged by the pain, focused their attention firmly on Jack.  
"SO, YOU ARE THE ONE WHO FOUGHT MY SON'S WORK." The crowd spoke. "YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE MUCH..."  
"I see the resemblance," Jack snarled, thoroughly pissed off. It seemed smoke demons in general liked to push people's buttons.  
The possessed chuckled as one.  
Glowing chains suddenly erupted from the floor. Jack tensed but they went after the smoke clouds, somehow pulling them together and trapping them in one large pulsing mass of smoke. The possessed fell unconscious as the demon, torn from the people it was controlling, screamed it's fury.  
The ghostly chains rattled as the demon struggled, slamming into walls and columns hard enough to crack them.  
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING OLD HAG?!" It roared, thrashing.  
"I believe I am stopping you." The calm voice of the Lady answered. Jack whipped around and gaped at the sight of her with the chains in her hands.  
The demon noticed his lack of attention and surged forward.  
Alex shouted something in Latin while at the same time, the Lady jerked the chains back.  
The smoke demon slammed into light in the shape of wings that had sprung up between it and Jack and rebounded.   
Stretched out on the floor, most of the fight went out of the thing. It seemed to have a silent conversation with the Lady. Eventually they appeared to come to an understanding and the chains glow increased while the demon seemed to be shrinking.  
The remaining smoke swirled into an eye that aimed itself at Jack.  
The demon stared for a moment then started shrieking with laughter, writhing.  
"HAHAHAAHAAA! OH! I SEE NOW! THAT'S HILARIOUS!" It gasped.   
"What's so funny?" Jack called out.  
"HEHEHE, YOU'LL FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH! OH WOW, THATS AMAZING!"  
Eventually all of the demon was torn away, cutting the laughter off abruptly.   
The chains returned to the Lady, who looked troubled.  
She turned to Jack and handed him the thing's soul. When he made as if to protest, she said, "I am old dear, I think you would benefit from this more than me."  
He sighed but nodded. The soul was much bigger than any others he'd seen, about the size of an apple, made of swirling grays and blacks.  
Carefully he took a bite out of it. Nothing happened so he took another, relishing the taste. Oddly enough it tasted of smoked ham.  
By the time he'd finished the last bite, Ro had rejoined the group.  
Jack turned to ask her about how the people who'd been possessed were, when pain exploded in his body.  
His legs gave out and he ended up on the floor, trying to drag air into his lungs.  
His stomach felt like it was being dissolved by its own acid and the rest of him wasn't much better.  
Jack tried to scream but his throat wouldn't work. It felt like someone was trying to stretch everything he was to fit something new, pouring in energy to fill the new spaces.  
His skin felt way too tight and he ground his teeth together, tasting blood. He'd bitten through his tongue.  
The whole thing was a very much unwanted echo of when he'd first gotten his horns. The pain began to trail off.  
There was a foreign sensation of a swiftly growing part of him scraping over the floor beyond his mental map of himself.  
Turning, Jack tried to mentally prepare himself for what was sure to be another demonic body modification. He blinked at the long tail curling behind him.   
It was about a foot longer than  his legs and completely covered in the same short thorns and blackened skin as his claws. At the tip the spikes became longer, flaring out slightly. It certainly looked dangerous.  
Jack bit his lip and carefully tried to stand. Not used to the extra weight of his new tail, he overbalanced and almost fell again. Ro helped steady him and he smiled at her gratefully.   
"What...happened just now?" Jack asked the Lady carefully. "And not just the obvious."  
He felt...different. Like a puzzle where someone took away the edge pieces so it could continue outwards. Like he wasn't bound by the same limits as two minutes ago.  
"Ancient Demons are a class above the rest, each is extraordinary powerful. You are one of the few demons with the potential to eventually become an Ancient. As such, expect many more attempts on your life now. When it becomes known what you could become, everyone will try to kill you before you have the chance to become that powerful." Alex explained, momentarily slipping into teacher mode.  
Jack huffed. "Just great..." Then he blinked.   
Turning to the Lady, he asked, "So how did you kill that Ancient then? Are you one too?"  
She chuckled and shook her head. "Oh no dearie, that one was incredibly weakened by something, that and they seemed like they were only living to find a good way to go out in style. Some older demons get like that, seeking death like it is their bed."  
The group began making their way back to the rest of the convention, slowly due to Jack's new tail. He wasn't quiet used to moving with it yet and he often stumbled.  
"It looked a lot like that demon we saw in the crystal..." Alex mused.   
"But how did it get out then?" Ro asked. Alex drew up short. Mouth pulled into a furious line, he started rifling through his bag frantically. After a moment he stopped and swore explosively in Latin.  
"Language, young man," the Lady chided calmly.  
"The other smoke demon, the smaller one, it's gone. It probably was the one to let the Ancient out."  
"Then it most likely got eaten for its troubles," the Lady said.  
"Oh that reminds me," Jack said out loud, turning to her. "How did you get here exactly?"   
"I have a summoning circle for her." Alex explained, holding up a slip of paper with an ornate circle scribbled on it. "When I realized what it was we were facing, I called for backup."  
"Thanks for that," Jack grinned. Alex nodded. The group began walking again, Alex and Ro two steps ahead and left of Jack and the Lady.  
He overheard Ro asking Alex, "So how did you make the sprinklers rain holy water?"  
"A few blessings on the pipes," the exorcist replied quietly.  
Comfortable silence reigned between the group and was swallowed by the hum of the crowd as they rejoined everyone.  
Alex and Ro split off to scout out the rest of the convention. Jack, at her request, started quietly explaining the events leading up to her arrival to to the Lady.  
"Hey Jack!" Mark called out as he passed them going in the opposite direction.  
"Hey Mark," Jack called back, grinning. The Lady looked in the direction Mark was headed with a troubled frown.  
"Is there something wrong?" Jack asked, noticing her expression.  
"Was that the young man you revived?" She asked in response. Jack nodded. "Oh dear."  
"Why, what's wrong?!"  
She looked at him.  
"I fear you may have done too good of a job. That young man is now either an unawakened golem or a sleeping undead. Only time will tell, really."  
"What the hell does that mean?!" Jack asked, frantically scanning the crowd for Mark's distinctive hair.  
The Lady yanked his head back around to face her.  
"It means his body and soul are one for eternity."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically as long as his body isn't destroyed, Mark will live on indefinitely

**Author's Note:**

> Inspiration was taken from the 2014 movie Horns starring Daniel Radcliffe


End file.
